1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning tools for surfaces and associated equipment, and more specifically to rollers for cleaning surfaces.
2. Related Art
Rollers have been used for cleaning surfaces such as ceilings and walls. With one type of roller, the roller cylinder is allowed to rotate in only one direction through action of a ratchet and pawl. The ratchet and pawl are external to the roller cylinder, which is not suitable for situations where contaminants cannot be tolerated such as in nuclear facilities, hospitals and other health facilities, semiconductor and electronics facilities and in other clean rooms. Solvents or cleaning solutions may affect the operation of the ratchet and pawl and may produce particulates which contaminate the surface being cleaned. Additionally, the ratchet and pawl may be too difficult to operate because there may not be sufficient freedom of rolling in a given direction. Rotating roller mops generally are also known.
Pads, mops and cloth wipes have been used to clean surfaces but the manner of using these does not provide a sufficiently clean surface. For example, mops wipe the surface back and forth, picking up contaminants but also spreading contaminants across the surfaces. It has been recognized previously that wiping in only one direction is preferred but such cleaning motion is not always achieved when using simple pads, mops or cloths.
There is a need for a unidirectional cleaning roller which can lay down solvent or cleaning solution by rolling a roller cylinder on a surface and then locking the roller cylinder to allow wiping of the surface in the other direction using a lock protected from solvent or cleaning solution and covered to prevent escape of particulates. Such a unidirectional roller protects the surface being cleaned from possible creation of particle contaminants by the unidirectional mechanism and wiping in multiple directions is not done. Additionally, the unidirectional mechanism is protected from deterioration or fouling from the solvent or cleaning solution.